Support means for top roll carrier arm of textile drafting unit

ABSTRACT

A bracket for pivotally supporting the top roll carrier arm of a loading system for a drafting unit includes spaced sidewall members provided with openings for mounting the same on a shaft positioned rearwardly of the drafting unit. First and second bridging elements are carried by and extend across the space between the sidewall members, and a clamping block is adapted to engage the shaft and extends between the bridging elements, with means being provided for cooperating with the bridging elements to pull the same toward each other, and at least one of the bridging elements and the adjacent portion of the clamping block are provided with cooperating cam surfaces thereon tending to force the block inwardly away from the outer edges of the sidewall members when the bridging elements are pulled toward each other so as to clamp the bracket on the shaft extending therethrough.

United States Patent 1 Staneff [54] SUPPORT MEANS FOR TOP ROLL CARRIER ARM OF TEXTILE DRAFTING UNIT [75] Inventor: Stefan Staneft, Herzongenaurach,

Germany 73 Assignee: Industriewerk Schaeffler, one,

Herzongenaurach, Germany 22 Filed: June 16, 1971 211 Appl.No.: 153,616

[52] US. Cl ..l9/295 [51] Int. Cl. ..D01h 5/56 [58]- Field of Search ..l9/266, 267, 294, 19/295; 24/263 C; 287/54; 248/214 9 [56] References Cited I UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,814,838 12/1957 Dausch ..19/266 2,709,059 5/1955 Lear et al...

2,834,085 5/1958 Speisman .r

1,205,733 11/1916 Gutenkunst ..287/54 1 June 5, 1973 Primary Examiner-Dorsey Newton Attorney-Parrot, Bell, Seltzer, P'ark & Gibson [57] ABSTRACT A bracket for pivotally supporting the top roll carrier arm of a loading system for a drafting unit includes spaced sidewall members provided with openings for mounting the same on a shaft positioned rearwardly of the drafting unit. First and second bridging elements are carried by and extend across the space between a the sidewall members, and a clamping block is adapted to engage the shaft and extends between the bridging elements, with means being provided for cooperating with the bridging elements to pull the same toward each other, and at least one of the bridging elements and the adjacent portion of the clamping block are provided with cooperating cam surfaces thereon tending to force the block inwardly away from the outer edges of the sidewall members when the bridging elements are pulled toward each other so as to clamp the bracket on the shaft extending therethrough.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures LL I 3 lOa at; 2st

Various types of brackets have been provided heretofore which are clamped onto the shaft extending therethrough to support the top roll carrier arms or loading arms of textile drafting units. Some of such brackets provided heretofore have been formed from sheet metal and include sidewalls having openings therethrough for the passage of a supporting bar or shaft therethrough. Each of the sidewalls also have been provided with substantially aligned slots in the side walls. Cooperating with the side walls were two blocks which were connected to the sidewalls and which were pulled toward each other by means of a screw loosely extending through one of the blocks and threaded into the other of the blocks for clampingly securing the bracket on the bar or shaft extending therethrough. Such known supporting brackets have the disadvantage that, when clamped on a supporting bar or shaft, there is only a relatively small area of contact with the supporting bar or shaft. Consequently, a safety hazard is presented in that the elements of the clamping means might slip on the shaft, or such elements, or the shaft engaged thereby, might be deformed in the event of the clamping screw being tightened excessively.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved support means for a top roll carrier arm or loading arm of a textile drafting unit and which comprises a bracket provided with improved clamping means having a relatively large area of contact with the supporting shaft, which is readily mounted on, adjusted on, and removed from the supporting shaft, and which is of simple and economical construction.

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide support means for mounting the top roll carrier arm of a loading system for a textile drafting unit on a shaft positioned rearwardly of the drafting unit, which support means comprises a bracket, preferably in the form of a substantially U-shaped sheet metal element, and which includes a pair of spaced substantially parallel sidewall members each having an opening therethrough. The sidewall members are adapted to be positioned on the shaft with the shaft engaging the walls of said openings and first and second bridging elements are carried by and extend across the space between the sidewall members and are positioned adjacent the shaft. A looking or clamping block is adapted to engage the shaft and extends between the bridging elements, with means cooperating with the bridging elements for pulling the same toward each other, and at least one of the bridging elements and the adjacent portion of the clamping block are provided with cooperating cam surfaces thereon tending to force said block inwardly away from the outer edges of the sidewall members when the bridging elements are pulled toward each other to clamp the bracket on the shaft extending therethrough.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a schematic view, partially in section, showing a drafting unit whose top rolls are supported by a loading arm or carrier arm pivotally mounted on a preferred embodiment of the support means of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation of the improved support means showing portions of the carrier arm in cross- 2 section and being taken substantially along line 2-2 in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the improved support means removed from the supporting shaft and disassociated from the carrier arm and other related pressure applying components for purposes of clarity.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, and to FIG. 1 in particular, the improved support means is shown in association with a top roll weighting or loading system of a type disclosed in my copending application Ser. No. 153,608, filed concurrently herewith, and entitled TOP ROLL LOADING SYSTEM FOR DRAFTING UNITS, the disclosure of which is incor-' for supporting the arms of other forms of loading systems without departing from the invention.

I As shown in FIG. 1, the loading system comprises a loading arm or carrier arm 10 whose forward portion pivotally supports a rear saddle Ill, as at 11a, to which a front saddle 12 is pivotally connected, as at 12a. Holders 13 and l4, 15 are adjustably secured to the respective saddles 11, 12 and have the roller necks or shafts of respective top drafting rolls 21 22, 23 of a drafting unit releasably mounted thereon. When in operative position, the top drafting rolls 21, 22, 23 cooperate with respective bottom drafting rolls 21a, 22a, 23a for drafting a strand S oft extile fibers passing therebetween.

Carrier arm 10 is of inverted substantially U-shaped cross-sectional configuration and its rear portion is provided with a pair of downwardly extending legs 10a which straddle the improved support bracket 25 of the instant invention and are pivotally connected to opposite sidewall members 25a of bracket 25, as at 10b. Bracket 25 preferably is formed from sheet metal and is of substantially U-shaped form with the lower portions of the sidewall members 25a being connected to or formed integral with a bottom wall 25b extending therebetween.

Each sidewall member 25a is provided with a relatively large, preferably circular, opening 250 therethrough, the openings 25c being in substantially axial alignment for receiving therethrough a supporting shaft or bar 26 preferably substantially circular in cross-section and spaced rearwardly of and extending substantially parallel with the axes of drafting rolls 21-23, 2la-23a. The rear'poi'tion of each sidewall'25a of bracket 25 has a narrow slit 25d therethrough which extends from the corresponding opening 250 to the rear outeredge of the respective sidewall member 25a.

Novel clamping means is provided for adjustably se' curing bracket 25 on shaft 26. To this end, spaced apart" lower and upper bridging elements or clamping bars 30,31 extend between and are connected to the respective lower and upper portions of sidewall members 25a below and above the slits 25d therethrough. Clamping bars 30, 31 are preferably of substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration, but may be of other cross-sectional form, if desired. The distal ends of clamping bars 30, 31 are shown connected to sidewall members 25a by being loosely positioned in sub stantially rectangular apertures 25e, 25f in the respective lower and upper portions of sidewall members 254.

When used with the particular form of carrier arm 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, since the downwardly extending legs a of carrier arm 10 straddle, and are positioned closely adjacent to, the outer surfaces of bracket sidewall members a, it is preferred that clamping bars 30, 31 are of a length about equal to the distance between the outer surfaces of the sidewall members 25a of bracket 25. It will be observed in FIG. 1 that, since the downwardly extending legs 10a of carrier arm 10 straddle opposite ends of clamping bars 30, 31 they are preferably substantially flush with the outer surfaces of sidewall members 25a. A clamping screw 32 loosely penetrates lower clamping bar and is threaded into upper clamping bar 31 and serves as means cooperating with bars 30, 31 to pull the same toward each other. Screw 32 may be loosened for mounting bracket 25 on and removing the same from support shaft 25 or for angularly adjusting the position of bracket 25 about shaft 26.

When clamping bars 30, 31 are positioned in apertures 25e, 25f, they are spaced rearwardly from shaft 26 to accommodate a clamping block 33 between shaft 26 and clamping bars 30, 31. To facilitate angular adjustment of bracket about shaft 26 andto provide a relatively large area of contact of clamping block 33 with supporting shaft 26, clamping block 33 is of solid, onep'iece construction and is provided with an arcuate front or inner surface 33a, preferably of about the same radius as the radius of shaft 26. Clamping block 33 extends between and beyond the proximal surfaces of clamping bars 30, 31 and its upper and lower corner portions are chamfered or beveled to provide oppositely angularly disposed cam surfaces 33b, 33c thereon.

It will be observed in FIGS. 1 and 3 that the proximal rearmost comer portions of clamping bars 30, 31 are cut away or relieved between sidewall members 25a to provide respective oppositely angularly disposed, beveled or chamfered, cam surfaces 30a, 31a thereon which are adapted to engage cam surfaces 33b, 330 on clamping block 33. Cam surfaces 33b, 33c may be spaced inwardly from opposite ends of bars 30, 31 a distance about equal to the thickness of sidewalls 25a. Thus, the clamping block 33 may be guided between those projecting end portions of bars 30, 31 defining the ends of cam surfaces 30a, 33a.

The apertures 25e, 25f are sufficiently larger in the vertical direction in FIG. 1 than the clamping bars 30, 31 so that cam surfaces 30a, 31a on clamping bars 30, 31 may be moved away from and into engagement with the cam surfaces 33b, 330 on clamping block 33. It is preferred that the proximal walls of lower and upper apertures 25e, 25f are engaged by the proximal 'surfaces of the end portions of clamping bars 30, 31 while cam surfaces 300, 31a on clamping bars 30, 31 are in clamping engagement with the respective cam surfaces 33b, 33c on clamping block 33 and while clamping block 33 is, in turn, in clamping engagement with shaft 26, so that the lower and upper wall portions of openings 250 also may be clamped against support shaft 26. It is to be noted, however, that apertures 25e, 25f may be in the form of slots, closed at their upper ends, but open to the corresponding slits 25d, since it is apparent that the rear surfaces of clamping bars 30, 31 are restrained by the rear walls of the apertures 25e, 25f in order that they may perform their clamping function.

The slits 25d in sidewall members 25a are preferred so that, when screw 32 is tightened, bars 30, 31 may pull the lower and upper portions of sidewalls 25a toward each other to aid further in clamping bracket 25 on shaft 26 when clamping bars 30, 31 are in engagement with the respective upper and lower walls of apertures 25e, 25f and clamping block 33 is forced against shaft 26. However, it also is to be noted that slits 25d need not be provided in sidewalls 25a, provided that the proximal walls of apertures 25e, 25] then arespaced from the proximal surfaces of the ends of clamping bars 30, 31, or are formed asa single slot in each sidewall 26a, to permit bars 30, 31 to be pulled toward each other sufficiently to force clamping block 33' tightly against shaft 26.

It is preferred that the width of clamping block 33 is about the same as the distance between sidewall members 250 at their juncture with bottom wall 25b of bracket 25 to permit block 33 to be readily removed from and positioned between sidewall members 25a, or to slide therebetween and so that the arcuate surface 33 thereof provides a relatively large area of contact of the clamping means with shaft 26. Thus, with relatively low clamping forces, a firm engagement of clamping block 33 with supporting shaft 26 is achieved. Also, by forming block 33 of about the same or slightly greater width than the upper surface of bottom wall 25b, block 33 cooperates with clamping bars 30, 31 and screw 32 to stabilize the upper portions of sidewall members 25a and maintain the desired spacing therebetween, and thereby obviating the need for any other supporting or spacing elements between sidewall members 25a.

It is to-be noted that bracket 26 may be readily firmly clamped on the supporting shaft 26 in the event of there being considerable clearance between the shaft and the walls of the relatively large openings 250 of the bracket and through which the shaft 26 extends, because when bracket 25 is mounted on shaft 26, upon tightening screw 32, the cam surfaces on the clamping bars 30, 31 cam the clamping block 33 into tight clamping engagement with the rear surface of shaft 26 while, at the same time, the walls of openings 250 are forced into clamping engagement with the front surface of shaft 26.

If desired, the upper portion of screw 32 may loosely penetrate upper clamping bar 31 and a nut, not shown, may be threaded onto screw 32 against the upper surface of bar 31, without departing from the invention. However, it is preferred that screw 32 is threaded into bar 31, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

In order to apply predetermined downward pressure to loading arm 10 while it occupies the operative position shown in FIG. 1, the bottom wall 25b of bracket 25 is provided with an upstanding rear projection 25g thereon which is loosely penetrated by a spring-loaded plunger 35 surrounded by a coiled compression spring 36. The rear end of compression spring 36 bears against the projection 25g and the front end thereof bears against an enlarged front end portion of plunger 35, thus urging plunger 35 against a lower lever 37. Lower lever 37 is pivotally mounted, intermediate its ends, on a lower pivot pin 37a mounted in sidewall members 25a. The upper portion of lower lever 37 is provided with a roller or follower 37b thereon which engages the front surface of the lower portion of an upper lever 40 pivotally mounted on an upper pivot pin 40a carried by sidewall members 25a. The upper front portion of lever 40 is provided with a cam surface 40b thereon adapted to engage a locking element or roller 41 mounted in the lower portion of a latch arm 42.

Above lever 40, latch arm 42 is pivotally mounted as at 42a, between the side flanges of latch arm 10. The front portion of latch arm 42 overlies and is adapted to engage carrier arm when occupying operative position.

The pivot point 42a and roller 41 are so positioned with respect to cam surface 40b of lever 40 that, when latch arm 42 occupies the operative position shown in FIG. 1, spring 36 transmits downward and forward pressure to cam 40b which, in turn, transmits a forward and downward pressure to carrier arm 10 about its pivot 10b through latch arm 42. On the other hand, when latch arm 42 is moved upwardly relative to carrier arm 10 sufficiently to release roller 41 from engagement with cam surface 40b of upper lever 40, the entire carrier arm 10 and the parts mounted thereon may be pivoted upwardly about the pivot 10b at bracket 25.

Since the bottom drafting rolls 21a, 22a, 23a occupy fixed positions, it can be appreciated that the amount of force transmitted from spring 36 to latch arm, when the top drafting rolls 2], 22, 23 occupy the operative position, maybe varied by angularly adjusting the position of bracket 25 about shaft 26.

In the drawing and specification, there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

That which is claimed is:

1. Support means for mounting the top roll carrier arm of a loading system for a textile drafting unit on a support shaft positioned rearwardly of the drafting unit, said support means comprising a bracket including a pair of spaced substantially parallel sidewall members, each sidewall member having an opening therethrough for receiving the support shaft therein with the shaft extending through said bracket and engaging walls of said openings, first and second spaced apart bridging elements spaced from said openings and carried by and extending loosely through said sidewall members and across the space therebetween, a clamping block adapted to engage said shaft and extending between said bridging elements, means cooperating with said bridging elements for pulling the same toward each other, and at least oneof said bridging elements and the adjacent portion of said clamping block having cooperating cam surfaces thereon tending to force said block inwardly against said shaft when said bridging elements are pulled toward each other to clamp said bracket on the shaft extending therethrough.

2. A structure according to claim 1, wherein the other of said bridging elements and another adjacent portion of said clamping block also have cooperating cam surfaces thereon tending to force said clamping block inwardly against said shaft when said bridging elements are pulled toward each other.

3. A structure according to claim 1, wherein the support shaft is substantially circular in cross-section, and said clamping block is provided with an arcuate shaftengaging surface thereon of substantially the same curvature as the surface of the shaft engaged thereby.

4. A structure according to claim 2, wherein said cooperating cam surfaces are in the form of beveled edge surfaces on opposite outer end portions of said clamping block and corresponding beveled edge surfaces on proximal inner edge portions of said bridging elements engaging the respective beveled edge surfaces on said clamping block.

5. A structure according to claim 2, wherein each of said sidewall members has a slit therethrough extending from the opening to the rear edge of the respective sidewall member, said sidewall members having apertures therethrough adjacent opposite sides of said slits and in which end portions of said bridging elements are loosely extending and positioned, and the proximal walls of the apertures in each sidewall member being so located as to be engaged by said bridging elements when they are pulled together to aid in clamping said bracket on said shaft.

6. Support means for mounting the top roll carrier arm of a loading system for a textile drafting unit on a shaft substantially circular incross-section and positioned rearwardly of the drafting unit, said support means comprising a bracket including a pair of spaced substantially parallel sidewall members, each sidewall member having an opening therethrough and a slit extending from said opening to a rear outer edge of each sidewall member, said sidewall members being adapted to be positioned on said shaft with said shaft engaging the walls of said openings and with said slits substantially aligned with each other; first and second bridging elements carried by and extending across the space between said sidewall membersand positioned adjacent opposite sides of said slits, a clamping block having an arcuate front surface adapted to engage said shaft, said clamping block extending across said slits and between said bridging elements, a screw loosely penetrating one of said bridging elements and threaded into the'other bridging element for pulling the bridging elements toward each other, said clamping block having angularly disposed cam surfaces on opposite rear end portions thereof, and said bridging elements also having angularly disposed cam surfaces on their proximal front portions engageable' with said cam surfaces on said block and tending to force said block inwardly away from' said outer edges of said sidewall members when said bridging elements are pulled toward each other to clamp said bracket on, the shaft extending therethrough.

7. A structure according to claim 6, wherein said bracket is formed of sheet metal and is substantially U- shaped with a bottom wall extending between and connected to said sidewall members.

I l I 

1. Support means for mounting the top roll carrier arm of a loading system for a textile drafting unit on a support shaft positioned rearwardly of the drafting unit, said support means comprising a bracket including a pair of spaced substantially parallel sidewall members, each sidewall member having an opening therethrough for receiving the support shaft therein with the shaft extending through said bracket and engaging walls of said openings, first and second spaced apart bridging elements spaced from said openings and carried by and extending loosely through said sidewall members and across the space therebetween, a clamping block adapted to engage said shaft and extending between said bridging elements, means cooperating with said bridging elements for pulling the same toward each other, and at least one of said bridging elements and the adjacent portion of said clamping block having cooperating cam surfaces thereon tending to force said block inwardly against said shaft when said bridging elements are pulled toward each other to clamp said bracket on the shaft extending therethrough.
 2. A structure according to claim 1, wherein the other of said bridging elements and another adjacent portion of said clamping block also have cooperating cam surfaces thereon tending to force said clamping block inwardly against said shaft when said bridging elements are pulled toward each other.
 3. A structure according to claim 1, wherein the support shaft is substantially circular in cross-section, and said clamping block is provided with an arcuate shaft-engaging surface thereon of substantially the same curvature as the surface of the shaft engaged thereby.
 4. A structure according to claim 2, wherein said cooperating cam surfaces are in the form of beveled edge surfaces on opposite outer end portions of said clamping block and corresponding beveled edge surfaces on proximal inner edge portions of said bridging elements engaging the respective beveled edge surfaces on said clamping block.
 5. A structure according to claim 2, wherein each of said sidewall members has a slit therethrough extending from the opening to the rear edge of the respective sidewall member, said sidewall members having apertures therethrough adjacent opposite sides of said slits and in which end portions of said bridging elements are loosely extending and positioned, and the proximal walls of the apertures in each sidewall member being so located as to be engaged by said bridging elements when they are pulled together to aid in clamping said bracket on said shaft.
 6. Support means for mounting the top roll carrier arm of a loading system for a textile drafting unit on a shaft substantially circular in cross-section and positioned rearwardly of the drafting unit, said support means comprising a bracket including a pair of spaCed substantially parallel sidewall members, each sidewall member having an opening therethrough and a slit extending from said opening to a rear outer edge of each sidewall member, said sidewall members being adapted to be positioned on said shaft with said shaft engaging the walls of said openings and with said slits substantially aligned with each other; first and second bridging elements carried by and extending across the space between said sidewall members and positioned adjacent opposite sides of said slits, a clamping block having an arcuate front surface adapted to engage said shaft, said clamping block extending across said slits and between said bridging elements, a screw loosely penetrating one of said bridging elements and threaded into the other bridging element for pulling the bridging elements toward each other, said clamping block having angularly disposed cam surfaces on opposite rear end portions thereof, and said bridging elements also having angularly disposed cam surfaces on their proximal front portions engageable with said cam surfaces on said block and tending to force said block inwardly away from said outer edges of said sidewall members when said bridging elements are pulled toward each other to clamp said bracket on the shaft extending therethrough.
 7. A structure according to claim 6, wherein said bracket is formed of sheet metal and is substantially U-shaped with a bottom wall extending between and connected to said sidewall members. 